Sudden Endeavor
by Absolute Edge
Summary: Spartan-218 has been on an unlucky streak from day one. Now he finds himself trapped on a Death World surrounded by creatures and Sentinels. However, a force older then the stars themselves is on the move, prepared to purge the galaxy once again. RnR plz!
1. Death World

**Sudden Endeavor**

By: Absolute Edge

**AUTHORS NOTE:** I will soon be adding the tenth chapter, but I haven't gone back to repair the… mind numbing grammatical torture through the first nine chapters. I might go back later and update them one by one but until then… suffer with me. *insert sigh here*

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**U.N.S.S. Covert Frigate **_**Sudden Endeavor **_**/**

Aria is a rain forest planet some eight thousand light years away from Earth. Literally on the very edge of inhabited space, however, it was very close to home. The geography of Aria resembles Earth in almost every way, but the local animal and plant life is a whole other story.

Razor teeth, armor plates, claws, horns, and poison accurately describe every animal and plant on Aria. Every creature on Aria is genetically designed to kill humans. This is an uncommon phenomenon in which every plant and animal, for one reason or another, suddenly go through a massive genetic change to combat humans.

Unfortunately, U.N.S.C. also decided that this planet, this death world, was a perfect place for a manned probe station. Normally operated by three personnel, on two year rotations who are locked into the command module to prevent exposure, this had to change when the Covenant declared war. Small, elite stealth fleets make low orbit here for refuel and resupply and it was decided that, to make the process go faster and smoother, Spartans accompany all away teams.

"What do you mean, 'He fell out of the Pelican?'" Yelled Michele, the A.I. aboard the U.N.S.S. Covert Frigate _Sudden Endeavor_. Her fairly real voice echoed around the command deck and her sudden outburst caused many of the crew to flinch.

"Well, ma'am, more like slipped." A Pelican crewmember replied his voice betrayed his amusement.

Michele cut the feed and groaned loudly, making her feelings clear. The Spartan next to the feminine hologram looked over at her.

"Spartan-218?" He asked almost comically.

"Yeah, Spartan-218." Michele said sighing.

"Does this happen to him often?"

"This is a first, but things _like_ this happen to him often, too often."

Michele and the Spartan sighed at the same time with the same thought in mind, _if this is one of Humanities last best hopes for survival, we're so dead._

* * *

**U.N.S.C. Controlled Planet: Aria /**

The Pelican had almost exited Aria's atmosphere when Spartan-218 fell out. Cursing and flailing he fell back to the planet. His armor had begun to frost over as he plummeted back to Aria, piercing clouds along the way and leaving a fine trail behind.

"Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap!" Yelled the Spartan as his travels brought him on a direct collision course with a flock of birds that seemed unaware of him. Luckily his flailing form missed every bird and he sighed in relief.

"That was close… Oh son of a bi-" Spartan-218 smashed into a Clapstofurr, one of the rare species of Aira that range from the size of a young child to a Warthog reconnaissance vehicle, that exploded around him in a furry of blood, bone, and feathers.

The Spartan was covered in blood and feathers of a rare indigenous bird and plummeting down to Aria. For a split second the Spartan pretended he was a bird, covered in feathers and soaring through the sky.

Only one thing broke his fantasy moment and the blood droplets dragging across his visor wasn't it. The snowy mountain growing larger and larger that was already ridiculously large to begin with filled his vision.

"Uuuuhh… No fair…" Groaned Spartan-218 seconds before he crashed into the side of the mountain. After the impact his vision exploded in bright stars and a wash of dizziness flooded his mind. He couldn't really tell what was happening except that he was rolling downhill through deep snow.

Grunting and whining about how unfair life is Spartan-218 finally rolled to a stop on his back. He stared up at the nearly clear sky panting and heaving before slowly pushing his fingers against parts of his body checking for injuries. Satisfied that nothing was broken and there was no internal bleeding he sighed and relaxed in the cool, soft snow.

Suddenly a constant, small rumble vibrated through the Spartan's armored form. He didn't pay any mind to it until it got louder, and when the snow started to shift beneath him the Spartan tilted his head back to look up at the massive avalanche of snow bearing down on him.

"Oh son of a bi-" The white wall swept him under with its unstoppable force and he was lost under twelve feet of fresh, powdered snow.

* * *

**U.N.S.S. Covert Frigate **_**Sudden Endeavor /**_

The _Sudden Endeavor_ floated in low orbit around the death world Aria silently and invisible to all but the naked eye. Its skeletal structure bent and twisted at perfect angles to reflect and absorb sensors making it electronically undetectable; of course if a Covenant Corvette class battleship ran into it then it might be noticed.

The twelve dual heavy ship-to-ship guns, six on each side, folded under specific armor plats that retract so the guns can extend outwards to the surface. Two torpedo launchers that can volley twelve four torpedoes each hidden with four assault rocket pods split up from the top and bottom of the frigate. And, last but certainly not least, running the length of the Frigate was a standard MAC gun.

However, the pride and joy of the Covert Frigate, the thirty ten megaton remote detonated lead encased nuclear "Sleeper" mines reside in the belly of the Frigate. The _Sudden Endeavor_ is capable of coming within roughly five hundred yards, one thousand five hundred feet, of an enemy ship on full alert without detection.

Right now it was dead quiet on board as Michele watched the feed of Spartan-218's descent back to Aria.

"He hit a Clapstofurr the size of a Warthog…" Michele said sighing as a series of ooh's and groans went around the room. "That bird was old, probably a hundred years at least!"

"I wonder how surprised it would've been if it had been told that a falling human clad in near invincible Spartan armor was going to smash into it today." The Spartan said standing next to Michele also watching the feed.

"I'll delete this afterwards… I don't want any animal rights group finding this." Michele said, mostly to herself as she watched the Spartan fall.

"Now he just hit a mountain, and caused an avalanche." Michele killed the feed and stared at the blank screen for a few moments before deleting the record.

"Don't worry about 218, ma'am, he trained with the best." The Spartan said next to her.

"It's not him I'm worried about." She began as she turned to face him, "I fear for the safety of the wildlife."

"Just the wildlife?" The Spartan cocked his head slightly in question.

"No… no your right, I fear for the whole planet too." Michele said, her holographic form buzzing slightly.

Please RnR as your comments, constructive criticism, and suggestions are always appreciated.


	2. Simplicity is Golden

**Sudden Endeavor**

By: Absolute Edge

I do not own Halo, its awesome characters, or the epic plot.

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**- SIMPLICITY IS GOLDEN -**

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**U.N.S.C. Probe Station 3E-Gamma ****/**

Chris Mason has never been the best soldier; it would explain his being stuck on a death world all by himself with the basic A.I. Jessie who couldn't even hold a descent conversation.

It wasn't that Chris couldn't follow orders, oh no he always follows orders and what ever it is always gets done… eventually. Chris believes that it's the most probable reason why he's stuck here. This station almost never requires attendance by an actual human as the rotodroids can survive on the outside of the station with the billions of really deadly and really big creatures.

-_Private Mason please report to the observation deck, priority one.-_ Came the monotone, just barely female, voice of Jessie over the speaker system.

Chris just groaned and rolled over in bed wanting to ignore the A.I. but she had always been a persistent bitch.

-_Private Mason please report to the observation deck, priority one.-_

"Meh…" Chris mumbled pulling the sheets up.

-_Private Mason please report to the observation deck, priority one.-_

"Alright, alright, I'm coming…" Chris moaned as he got up slowly. "You had better have a damn good reason for waking me."

-_An unidentified object has crash landed into the Mortica Mountains. I recommend you contact the U.N.S.C. Covert Frigate _Sudden Endeavor_ that has been identified in low orbit.-_

Chris threw his pants on and staggered over to the elevator which groaned up to the observation deck slowly. As the doors opened Chris could see the billowing cloud of fresh snow thirty miles away by the Mortica Mountains, something must had smashed into it hard.

"Oh… Yeah that's a problem." He said and popped a squat at the comms desk. "This is U.N.S.C. Probe Station 3E-Gamma calling U.N.S.C. Covert Frigate _Sudden Endeavor_, please respond.

* * *

**U.N.S.C. Covert Frigate **_**Sudden Endeavor **_**/**

"Sir, Probe Station 3E-Gamma on Aria is hailing us." A lowly comms officer called out.

"Put it on speaker." The Spartan said, he frowned inwardly and Michele could tell by his voice that he was frustrated.

"This is U.N.S.C. Probe Station 3E-Gamma calling U.N.S.C. Covert Frigate _Sudden Endeavor_, please acknowledge." The voice was slightly distorted by static but the Spartan could tell he was tired.

"This is the _Sudden Endeavor_, go ahead 3E-Gamma."

"Sir, my sensors have noted an unidentified object has crashed into the Mortica Mountains and I was wondering if your sensors have noted the same."

"Yes, our sensors have alerted us to such an anomaly." The Spartan sighed.

"Do you have any idea what it might be, sir?" The voice came, it didn't seem to really care but procedure was procedure.

"It was a sensor probe; I had sent it out a few days ago to scan for slip space ruptures. A computing error had caused it to return at the wrong angle trapping it in the planets atmosphere. Do not worry about it, it's not worth retrieving." It was a mouthful and sounded rehearsed even though the Spartan had just whipped it all up in a matter of seconds.

"…" A slight, almost awkward pause lasted for a few moments, possibly as the man processed the Spartans information. "Alright, thank you sir."

"Your welcome, continue the good work soldier, _Sudden Endeavor_ out." The Spartan killed the feed and glanced to his side. Michele had her arms crossed; a frown on her face, and her holographic image seemed to be twitching.

"What's wrong?" The Spartan asked.

"Computing error? First off I don't 'compute' young man, secondly I don't make errors." Though calm, Michele was fuming.

"I apologize, you never compute and are never wrong." The Spartan said nodding his head.

"Oh, and why didn't you just tell him it was a Spartan that fell out of a Pelican and crashed into the mountain?"

The Spartan just stared at Michele.

"Oh, yeah, it would make you guys seem clumsy and reckless, huh?"

The Spartan growled slightly, "Anyways, Michele, take us to warp. Let's get this mission finished quickly before we pick up 218 again."

* * *

**U.N.S.C. Controlled Planet: Aria /**

An eerie sound could be heard echoing off the Mortica Mountain side. A sound so horrible, so terrifying that it could break lesser men in a matter of seconds and as Spartan-218 stopped groaning from under the snow and laughed hearing his voice echo off the mountain.

"I always knew my complaining was loud but man that's something else." Spartan-218 said to himself as he dug at the snow. This was taking too long and he was getting frustrated.

"Screw this!" He puled his assault rifle off his back and unleashed hell on the snow above him. The bullets ripped apart the fresh snow as shell casings rattled off his armor. As the clip dried up, unsatisfied, the Spartan slipped the rifle back onto his back and plucked a grenade from his hip.

"What now snow!" The Spartan threw the grenade up at the ceiling and the grenade impacted and stuck in place.

"Oh dear." The grenade exploded and a ball of fire engulfed Spartan-218 but fortunately explosions have this wonderful tendency to travel the path of least resistance meaning the snow was the victim today and not the Spartan.

The fireball vaporized the snow above him and a small rush of water from melted snow slipped down around him. Quickly recovering and climbing out of the hole the Spartan looked around.

He needed to find the Probe Station on Aria, he had no idea where to start and he didn't know which channel over the comms they were listening to. Spartan-218 shook out his legs, checked his guns and ammo, and began to climb the mountain figuring the higher up he was the better view he'd have.

"Well, I'm trapped on a death world with one chance of escape with billions of hostile creatures and plants that are designed to kill humans all around me and I have to find a small probe station that could be on the other side of the planet for all I know and that mountain looks reeeeeally tall. Man it sucks to be me right now!"

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**Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it! Please review if you have any suggestions or comments of any kind!**


	3. Retreate Stage Left

**Sudden Endeavor**

By: Absolute Edge

I do not own Halo, its awesome characters, or the epic plot.

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**- RETREAT STAGE LEFT -**

* * *

**U.N.S.C. Probe Station 3E-Gamma /**

-_Private Mason I have detected a small explosion at the same coordinates as the U.N.S.C. _Sudden Endeavor's_ crashed sensor probe._-

"So, probably from the remaining fuel going off, now stop bothering me I'm tired." Chris said as he wrapped his blankets around him tightly.

_-Private Manson this was not a fuel related explosion. My sensors have determined that this was caused by an explosive device, most probably an M9 HE-DP grenade.-_

Chris's eyes shot open and as much as he wanted to sleep he knew what Jessie had reported wasn't common on Aria. There wasn't supposed to be anyone else here after all.

"Did you review the data, because you realize how odd that sounds?"

-_Yes, Private Manson, I have reviewed the data and it is solid. It was an M9 HE-DP grenade that had detonated not fuel cells._-

Leaping out of bed Chris bolted up the stairs as the elevator was way too slow in this case. Grabbing a pair of binoculars he pressed them against the glass and looked out of the observation deck, he couldn't see anything but he didn't think he would. The white cloud was from something falling from space, a grenade going off wouldn't make much of a cloud.

"If your data is correct then you know what this means Jessie." Chris said lowering the binoculars as he tensed up waiting for her to say it.

-_Yes, Private Manson, protocol dictates that any anomalies that occur on Aira are to be thoroughly investigated by all nonessential personnel. However a special order had to be given in 3E-Gamma's case, being you are the only person manning the probe station._-

The voice was emotionless even though it knew exactly what had to be done. Exactly what Private Chris Manson had to do. Chris sighed in defeat but looked on the bright side. At least he'd get off his lazy fat ass and have an excuse to fire some guns at endangered species.

"Well… Jessie, it was nice knowing you, man the fort while I'm gone, and wish me luck." Chris said heading into the elevator for the slow ride to the weapons lockers.

* * *

**U.N.S.C. Controlled Planet: Aria /**

Spartan-218 hustled up the waist deep snow covered mountain a few hundred feet above ground level. He was panting but not from the exercise no a Spartan can sprint all out for maybe five miles before their hands start shaking, run for sixteen, and jog for roughly thirty. No the exercise was no problem, even at the uphill angle. 218 was panting on purpose to keep his oxygen levels as high as possible to prevent cramps.

218 clambered up the slopes, growing steeper as he traveled until he came upon a massive ice sheet that blocked his climb. Facing the ledge he stared at the wall deep in thought. A slight movement in the ice caught his eye and he focused on it. It was a light, a dark blue light that was coming from inside the ice. That's impossible this ice is at least four meters thick and all the impurities made it impossible to see through completely. No this light wasn't inside the ice… it was a _reflection_!

"Ah-ha!" The Spartan jerked around with lightening fast reflexes his assault rifle already in his hands. No little dark blue light, nothing, just snow, a few trees, and rocks. 218 lowered his rifle and turned back to the ice waiting for the light to come back, it did.

This time he ignored it and went about his business of climbing the ice. 218 punched the ice gently testing its strength and it punched back. Sighing, the Spartan took out his combat knife and began hacking away at the ice to make hand grips.

The light was back and it seemed closer as if it was intently curious at what the Spartan was doing. It floated back and forth from either side of him getting every angle of his actions. It suddenly dawned on 218 that the light was studying him, examining him for whatever purpose.

"Woah!" His knife slipped and 218 fell sideways but his grip in the ice locked down. Hanging by an arm he mumbled a few horrible curses.

"I feel like a piñata or something." The Spartan lunged up and stabbed his knife into the ice and it held.

Spartan-218 was half way up the ice sheet and had lost interest in the light, that is, until he heard a soft humming sound behind him. Glancing in the ice he found that the dark blue light was close enough to see a white-grey cover around it. This was his chance, he knew the fall wouldn't kill him, he survived re-entry after all, so all that was left was catching the light.

With a great effort he leapt into a back flip off the ice wall and crashed into the blue light that exploded in a very shinning gold light that was very tough to grab onto before it suddenly vanished and the blue light was revealed for what it was, a machine.

"What the-" The Spartan's armed fingers gripped the wing-like arms and it struggled to free itself and stay afloat in the air. However when a person in Spartan armor grabs onto something in the air gravity comes into play and they crunched into the snow beneath them.

"Hey calm down!" The machine was raging in the Spartan's grip and lurched upwards before jerking back down again. It was like he was riding a bull the way this thing was acting. Left, right, up, down, back, and forth it went. It even went so far as to throw him into a tree.

"Alright, that's the last straw!" 218 brought an armored fist down on top of the machine and its antigravity, or whatever it was using, must have failed because it plummeted into the snow.

"Now hold on there!" 218 rolled on top of the machine and it stopped struggling.

Standing up 218 held the machine out in front of him to examine it thoroughly. The blue light was still on and very bright it seemed to be some kind of eye. The rest of the machine was actually a light grey metal of unknown origin but with white camouflage decorating it. All around the eye folded back into along the body were multiple arms that ended in pincers, grapples, claws, and other tools. Beneath was a curved undercarriage with was appeared to be a weapon, but that was 218 thinking militaristically, it was observing him after all and could very well be a tool of some kind like the arms.

Very slowly one of the arms rocked forwards from on top that ended in a long probe. The Spartan simply watched with interest, deciding that it was of no threat. The probe arm looped around and gently touched down on the armored shoulder of the Spartan. A light tingle shivered through him as he realized it had just given him a gentle shock, possibly static. 218 looked at the probe arm then back to the machine.

Then the probe arm touched him again and boy did he feel the charge. The touch sent sparks in all directions and the power launched 218 backwards off his feet into the ice wall which cracked against his armored form. The Spartan's head had hit the ice wall and his vision had darkened he rolled his head around but caught a glimpse of the large dark blue eye inches away from him before unconsciousness took him.

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**Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it! Please review if you have any suggestions or comments of any kind!**


	4. See You Me

**Sudden Endeavor**

By: Absolute Edge

I do not own Halo, its awesome characters, or the epic plot.

* * *

**- SEE YOU ME -**

* * *

**U.N.S.C. Controlled Planet: Aria /**

"You've got to be kidding me!" Yelled Private Manson as he hauled his worthless ass over a downed log.

The Venomus behind him roared in anger as it trampled the log to pieces. It wasn't Chris's fault the Venomus's tail looked like a moss covered log and besides Chris didn't think he weighed _that_ much.

"You're just a big baby!" Chris said ducking as a long, serrated tusk sliced the air over head cutting halfway through a large tree.

Chris rolled onto his back but the Venomus couldn't get its tusk out of the tree, for now, giving Chris a few moments to escape. Just as Chris got to his feet a loud screech, like nails on a chalkboard, came from up above the tree line.

Pushing himself as close to one of the trees as he could Chris aimed his assault rifle up towards the sky as the Venomus whimpered and began to really give the tree a piece of its mind.

"I don't plan on being anyone's lunch around here so I won't see you later." With that Chris went into a ducked run around the Venomus and that was that.

Predatory creatures always go for an easy kill and a trapped Venomus would be easy killing so they wouldn't bother Chris, too much at least. The cries of the animal echoed through the forest attracting all manors of murderous beasts which cleared the way for Chris.

"Ok… With all you big'n uglies out of the way I might stand a chance." Chris leaned against a large boulder at the base of the mountain he just ran fifteen-some miles in about half a day.

Well not ran… more like ran then walked then jogged then walked then walked some more then ran. That didn't matter the point was he was close enough to see the crash site way up the side of the snow covered mountain. Wrapping himself up in a tough fur coat over his flak armor Chris slowly began to hike up the mountain.

* * *

**Somewhere deep below the Mortica Mountain Range /**

Spartan-218 lay unconscious on a spotless, metallic table without any form of restraints visible. He was groggy and felt extremely light headed. Voices were chattering back and forth slowly as if they were trying to pronounce every word correctly. For lack of creativity 218 decided to label the voices by the Greek Alphabet, not necessarily in order.

-_Subject 88052/22D appears to be humanoid, a Homosapien of one genetic variant or another.-_ It was the first of the slow voices 218 could understand so it got the first name: Alpha.

_-Protocol dictates the recording and preservation of all genetic and physical data on planet 12934/2B.-_ Beta said, but the Spartan couldn't really tell if it was reminding everyone what protocol dictated or simply rereading it by habit.

_-Agreed, but protocol only applies to species that haven't been previously recorded and logged.-_ Delta replied.

_-I apologize for the violation.-_ Alpha said as it prodded the Spartan's armor with a very thin needle like appendage, it slid along the dark green armor scratching the paint but failing to penetrate.

_-Test failed... Analysis... Subject appears to have a metallic armored hide.-_ Alpha reflected.

_-Error... Metal hides are impossible as life matter is incapable of replicating such minerals within its body.-_ Delta responded almost rushed.

_-Recommend plasma beam drill to obtain genetic sample.-_ Beta said, not a question but a statement.

_-Agreed.-_ Alpha and Delta said in union.

"Plasma what?" Spartan-218 turned his head to try and get a glimpse of the creatures.

-_The subject awakes, verbal and visual recordings commencing for first contact.-_ Beta said and there was a low whine, probably from what ever was recording them.

Alpha, Beta, and Delta each resembled the dark blue eyed machine that had given 218 the shock of his life but they were slightly different. They still had the various arms ending with tools but they had elongated plates that overlapped and circled around the center eye that tightened and loosened as though the eye was squinting or blinking even.

_-Greetings subject 88052/22D we are the Collectors of planet 12934/2B.-_ Alpha said.

"What? Oh, hey, I'm subject- I mean, my name is Nathan. You can call me Spartan-218, or just 218." Nathan said, his head was still a little iffy and his feet tingled but it would go away soon.

-_Allocate name assignment: Nathan, for subject 88052/22D for further reference.-_ Beta said to itself.

-_Greetings... Nathan we are the Collectors.-_ Delta said, repeating Alpha.

"Do you three have names other than 'Collectors' or should I keep referring you three as Alpha, Beta, Delta?" Nathan asked as he hopped off the table.

-_You may call us what you wish, but you must allow us a genetic sample.-_ It was Delta who also floated a little closer with the needle arm hanging down.

"I guess… But in return you have to answer any and all questions I have." Nathan replied as he slipped off his metal gauntlet.

-_Agreed.-_ The three Collectors replied in union.

* * *

**U.N.S.C. Controlled Planet: Aria /**

"You goddamned son of a- ow!" Chris yelled at the many vines wrapping around his legs.

The Vampire Vine is probably one of the more dangerous plants on Aria and is exceptionally hard to kill. The brain is fifty feet below ground and its body extends up and out of the ground like a tree. The vines hang down in thick groups and when a creature touches one the vines all react to tie up the creature as micro thin spines pierce the flesh and drain the blood from its body.

Right now the few vines that have wrapped themselves around Chris have begun pulling him in reach of the rest of them. Thrashing violently Chris got an arm free and pulled the pin of a grenade with his teeth before tossing it into the thickest batch of vine.

The grenade exploded with deadly efficiency vaporizing a good number that were packed in around the bomb and ripping the rest apart. Charred remains flew over Chris's head and the vines let him go quickly. The whole plant shook in pain and a deep groan slithered from the tree.

"Stupid, worthless, prickly bitch." Muttered Chris pulling off some smoking remains, "Not so tough now are you?"

Chris laughed and tried to get up but his left leg was being touchy. Groaning Chris sat down on a rock nearby looking at his chewed up pants. Rolling the pants back Chris hissed at the damage, a thousand knives the size of small hairs had tugged and ripped across his leg.

"Look what you did! You… you… uh forget it." Chris sighed and lied back against the rock listening to the Vampire Vine lick its wounds.

"I guess it's as much your fault as it is mine. You're just a big dumb plant who's trying to survive, and I'm just a small dumb person who's tied up in red tape." The plant just groaned and Chris began treating his leg with biofoam.

* * *

**Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it! Please review if you have any suggestions or comments of any kind!**


	5. Information Please

**Sudden Endeavor**

By: Absolute Edge

I do not own Halo, its awesome characters, or the epic plot.

* * *

**- INFORMATION PLEASE -**

* * *

**Somewhere deep below the Mortica Mountain Range /**

"There's your sample, now you get to answer my questions." Nathan said slipping his armored gauntlet back over his light skin.

-_Yes, we will keep our side of the agreement.-_ Alpha said slowly as it floated around the room.

Delta had taken the Spartan's genetic sample to a large machine protruding from the wall and slipped the skin sample inside a tubular device. The retrieving of the sample was painless; it didn't even feel like someone had scratched him.

"Very good, so, first question, where are we?"

-_Below the mountain range you had fallen into.-_ Gamma replied though its voice was slow and methodical Nathan could somehow detect a hint of humor in the machines speech.

"Ah, yes, well that could not be helped. Anyways, how big is this place?" Nathan asked looking out a large window that separated the rest of the facility from them.

-_The Collection Database is, in your species measurements, sixteen and a half miles at its longest point, eight miles at its widest point, and five hundred feet below the surface at any given point.-_ Delta answered that one, though it wasn't looking at the Spartan as it was too intent on the results of the sample.

"Oh wow, and you're not worried that the whole mountain might come down on you?"

-_No, the facility is structurally sound.-_ Beta said as it zipped over to Delta also waiting for the results.

"So what do you three do down here?" Nathan had wandered back to the table and sat down.

_-As our name may imply, we are programmed to scout out new and unusual changes in genetic code on planet 12934/2B and collect samples for preservation within the Shield.-_ Beta said.

"What is the Shield?"

-_It's a superstructure that engulfs and entire sun using the energy released by it to sustain the life on it. Picture an inverted planet where the sun is at the center and instead of living on the outside like on planet 12934/2B all life resides on the inside. It's location has been lost though a slip space rupture constantly open allows us to transport specimens and genetic data to it for safe keeping.-_ Alpha replied.

"Ok I don't understand half of that… maybe not any of it but I'm sure it makes plenty of sense." Nathan said as sound bounced through the room.

-_The results are back.-_ Delta said as the machine produced a screen that lit up with information.

"Oh great we get to see if I'm an endangered species or not, well what's the verdict?" Nathan asked almost comically.

-_You are indeed endangered.-_ Beta said slowly.

"Say what? No way." Nathan rushed over to the machine but couldn't understand the language.

-_Apparently your genetic code is slightly different than average Homosapiens. That change in code enables your brain to process data at a much quicker pace giving you advanced reflexes.-_ Delta said as Alpha floated over.

"Well yeah, I know that. That's why I'm in the Spartan program." Nathan replied oblivious to Delta's apparent interest.

-_Error...-_ Delta said. Alpha and Beta had been staring at the Spartan but turned sharply to see what Delta had caused Delta to pause.

-_Protocol dictates action.-_ Delta said, its voice had become quicker and its blue eye tinged to a reddish glow. As the other two read the information the each turned and appeared to become as crazy looking as Delta.

"Guys…" Nathan began backing away, his hands held up in neutrality.

-_Subject 88052/22D you must come with me.-_ Alpha said inching closer.

-_Why not me?-_ Alpha turned to find Beta looking at it.

-_Explain yourself.-_

-_Well why can't he come with me?-_

-_Because... I said it first so too bad.-_

-_Well what about me?-_ It was Delta who circled around by Beta.

-_Protocol dictates action!-_ Alpha said aggressively.

-_We know what protocol dictates! But why can't we take him?-_

-_Fine, fine, fine! We can all take him. Agreed?-_ Alpha suggested and the two Collectors glanced at one another.

-_Agreed.-_ They said in Union.

_-Now, Nathan, we need you to come... Son of a...-_ Alpha turned and the Spartan was gone.

* * *

**U.N.S.C. Controlled Planet: Aria /**

"Not much... farther. Just up this... ledge." Chris muttered slowly as he staggered up the mountain side, the chest deep snow was greatly slowing his progress and had managed to wade through the softer snow easy enough but the higher he went the more compact the snow became.

Fortunately the crash site really was just up a small ledge... which was just up a slightly larger and steeper ledge... which was just past an even larger and steeper slope. It shouldn't be that hard though, Chris was an engineer after all, a problem solver.

"I have absolutely no idea how I'm going to get up there..." He complained to himself as his hands felt across the slop for grip. Failing, Chris pulled out a small, digital map and looked for the easiest way up.

"No... No, that can't be..." Chris turned and hurried along the slope and rounded a sharp corner and there it was. "Oh god damned son of a-" There, not fifty feet away was a weaving pathway straight up the side of the mountain.

Sighing Chris began walking over to the pathway and walked along it at an easy pace. He was simply being thankful that very few less than a tenth of a percent of the animals lived in the cold of the Mortica Mountain range.

Chris laughed loudly at his stupid good fortune, it wasn't like this happened every day. As he made his way up the side of the mountain Chris thought about his motives for leaving the relative safety of the probe station, Jessie could be such a bitch sometimes. The promise of adventure, the guarantee to fire his guns, and to get out of the cramped probe station. A few years in that hole can get to a person.

There was something up ahead, it looked like a door but Chris couldn't believe that there would be a door, in fact Chris couldn't believe that _anything_ man made would be out here. As Chris got closer he could tell it wasn't man made at all but alien in design. Runes and scribble covered the doorway top to bottom. He paused in front of it and fought with his over curious mind: _I have to check out the crash side but I really want to investigate this mysterious cave thing... It can't be that big inside... I'll just take a peek._

So Chris made up his mind and entered the cave. Like any other cave it was dark and damp, Chris had snapped a couple glow sticks but their neon green was out of place and gave an eerie glow to the walls but it was still light so Chris dealt with it rather than walk off a cliff. Suddenly he came to, what do you know, a cliff edge and before him rest a vast super-gicantic-monsterous-mega facility. It stretched out of eyesight in all directions.

"Wow..." Chris said softly as he watched thousands of tiny machines fly back and forth along the facility.

* * *

**Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it! Please review if you have any suggestions or comments of any kind!**


	6. Hammer and Chisel

**Sudden Endeavor**

By: Absolute Edge

I do not own Halo, its awesome characters, or the epic plot.

* * *

**- HAMMER AND CHISEL -**

* * *

**Collection Database /**

Spartan-218 ran along the metal hallway drenched in bright lights. The ceiling was clotted with little machines about the size of a fist zipping back and forth spewing thin beams of blue light at seemingly random ports, however Nathan was one hundred percent sure that these seemingly random acts were part of a higher order of things.

Ignoring them Nathan came to a fork in the road. Left, right, or straight? There was a computer panel of sorts protruding from the wall next to him like the one that Delta plugged his sample into and he hurried over to it.

"Computer! Hey computer hello?" Nathan sputtered out waving his hands at the machine hoping it would understand good old English.

"Come on computer turn on or something! Activate!" Nathan must've yelled the key word because it hummed to life and answered him.

-_How can I help you Subject 88052/22D?-_ The computer replied in perfect, slow, monotone, English.

"Reclaimer- Never mind! Computer I need directions to the Shield slip space rupture!" Nathan asked assuming the Collectors wouldn't open fire close to the most important thing within their facility.

-_Processing request... Completed...-_ The computer projected a three dimensional model of the Collection Database super structure with a pulsing you-are-here circle and a red line that slithered around bends and curves before ending with another pulsing circle maybe two floors below and eight hundred feet ahead of him.

"Alright… Thanks computer!" Nathan said before he continued to run down the hallway.

-_Goodbye Reclaimer-_

* * *

**Somewhere deep below the Mortica Mountain Range /**

Private Chris Manson was wandering around the vast hollowed out Mountain looking for an entrance into the mega facility. For him no luck but for the thousands upon thousands of flying machine creatures there were entrances all over. Chris had followed one that had slipped through some kind of fuzzy blue 'portal' like device and tried to follow it with no luck again. It seemed to only block living organisms because the three rocks he had thrown at the portal went straight through before being picked up and dropped right outside the portal by a small fist sized, crescent moon thing.

"Well at least they're tidy." Chris said as another of the larger machines with the single large blue glowing eye slipped through the portal around him, either oblivious to his presence or simply uncaring.

"You jerk, didn't even invite me in." Chris smiled and leaned against the side of the portal doorway waiting for another to zoom by. Fortunately another hooked around the corner a few moments later and right before it fazed through the barrier Chris jumped onto it. The machine bucked in surprise but launched itself forwards probably thinking it would be safer inside the facility.

"Please work, oh please, please, please!" Chris whispered urgently as the machine began to slip through the portal. As the fuzzy blue wall came to Chris's hand it enveloped it and Chris laughed in victory. Apparently living things are only allowed in if brought in by one of these suckers.

The portal was up to his elbows but his hands were feeling hot; the sweaty and dry kind. Curious Chris poked his head through the portal and to his horror this particular entrance apparently leads to some kind of metal smelting plant. He saw row upon row of massive assembly lines that carried cube slabs of pitch black metal that led to large machines with huge appendages that ended with lasers, presses, and circuitry implanters.

"Holy… fudge sticks…" This facility must've been fifty times larger on the inside than he had first guessed which was impressive.

* * *

**Collection Database /**

Gun and beam fire exploded and sizzled back and forth in the long, high ceiling halls. Spartan-218 dove out of the way of a thick gold beam of energy that burned a good foot through the wall and continued to burn over along the wall over Nathan's head.

"You assmuncher!" Nathan cursed firing his assault rifle back at one of the red eyed machines. The bullets ricocheted off a shimmering gold like shield that eventually failed from the onslaught.

"Try to take off _my_ head?" The volley began to make physical contact with the floating metal machine before the magnitude of the rounds ripped the flying eye to pieces. The eye blinked on and off as the anti-gravity failed and it began to fall before exploding in mid-air.

"And the pownage of robo-noobs continues!" Nathan laughed as he continued his run to the slip space portal. He ran by a long glass window with a huge machine inside with massive cabling littering the floor. Jolts of electricity jumped from large towers to the machine in the middle of the room.

The Spartan rounded a corner to find another window but this time a different angle of the machine. It was cube with a circular 'doorway' cut all the way through that pulsated with power. Inside was another circle but it was painted various colors: black, purple, and pink.

"Wait what the?" Nathan paused and looked closer at the inner circle. The colors were moving, flowing along the surface.

That's it, the slip space portal. Nathan took off in a sprint for the entrance, where ever it was. There are four walls to every square and he's seen that two have windows therefore one of them should have a door. He rounded another corner and found another window, three down one to go. Rounding the last corner a bright gold beam exploded in his vision and past right by his head.

The machine was only a few feet away so the Spartan charged and tackled the flying eye bot to the ground. Beams of gold light raced around the room as it tried to find its mark but the Spartan was stronger and faster. He wailed on the machine with both fists until it laid a crumpled wreck at his feet.

"Spartans two, eye bots zero." Nathan laughed as he ran over to a break in the glass window.

It was fuzzy and blue and it wouldn't budge not matter how many bullets the Spartan shot at it. One of the rounds ricocheted off at stuck Nathan in the hand, it didn't break his armor but it stung like hell.

"Ow! ow, ow, ow!" Nathan growled but paused when one of the little, fist sized bots slipped through and buzzed over to the wrecked eye bot. They can go through, so maybe it can take him with it.

Nathan ran over and picked up the wrecked eye bot and hobbled back to the portal. The little bot hissed at him and zapped him with a shock from its little beam. It was more annoying that painful so the Spartan ignored it.

The portal accepted the wreckage and allowed Nathan to pass along with it; the little bugger had run off, probably to let Alpha, Beta, and Delta know where he was. It was too late for them to stop him, he was inside and they were god knows where.

* * *

**Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it! Please review if you have any suggestions or comments of any kind!**


	7. Innocence is Perspective

**Sudden Endeavor**

By: Absolute Edge

I do not own Halo, its awesome characters, or the epic plot.

* * *

**- INNOCENCE IS PERSPECTIVE -**

* * *

**Somewhere deep below the Mortica Mountain Range /**

Chris has jumped back out the portal rather than risk the smelting plant. He had roamed around along the never ending wall of reflective steel. Something had happened; some kind of silent alarm must've gone off because all the larger blue eyes have disappeared inside the facility. This would be a problem because Chris doubted the smaller guys could hold his weight through the portal.

The ground rumbled below his feet and Chris felt it was as good a time as any to leave. He'll report this back to Jessie... eventually of course. But for now escaping alive was top of the list. The walls shook and Chris took that as a signal to get out and backtracked to the cliff edge. It wasn't that hard, plenty of light down here after all, the tricky part was, well more like dangerous, would be surviving a possible avalanche if the tremors decided to continue.

Running back to the entrance Chris made up his mind that there was no way he could out run an avalanche even if it was a small one and he really wasn't that far from the top so all he had to do was climb his way up to a peak, wait for an avalanche, if there was one, and then head back down. Besides, it wasn't like a mountain could flip over and squish him if he was on top of it.

Marveling at his own genius Chris finally reached the entrance when another tremor, much more violent this time, shook everything almost throwing Chris off his feet. He had to get moving or the mountain might burry him alive. Hurrying outside Chris made a hard u-turn and looked for the rockiest, dirtiest path up. Always assuming there will be less waist deep snow to come down on him if there's more dirt and rock visible, good theory now all he had to do was test it.

* * *

**Collection Database /**

"Don't come any closer Alpha." Spartan-218 said raising his magnum up towards one of the lightening towers as the floating eye dubbed Alpha ducked through the portal. Nathan wasn't about to jump through without knowing what he might fall into, or what might be on the other side like a bottomless pit or just empty space rather than grass covered land.

"Come now, Nathan, do not be foolish," Alpha began inching closer, though, it was still a good ten feet away and the Spartan allowed the leisure inching, "We both know you can not destroy the slip space portal."

Alpha was intelligent and had probably thought this through a thousand times with its super computer brain before confronting Nathan. It should be a snap to outthink an advanced alien supercomputer that was plugged into a database filled with centuries of information whose whole purpose is to find everything about anything using anything necessary to find everything... piece of cake, or pie maybe?

"We'll just see about that!" Nathan fired his magnum and the bullet ricocheted off the lightening tower with a sharp 'ping' that bounced off the ceiling and just happened, by chance, to strike a main power line that fed energy directly into the slip space stabilizer field and the high caliber, explosive round blew the line in two.

"I thought you said I couldn't damage it!" Yelled the Spartan as he rushed over and grabbed onto the flailing line that was overcharging with a surplus of energy firing sparks in all direction trying to hold it down.

"I meant that metaphorically how if you did then you would be stuck here!" Alpha cried out, its monotone speech toned up a few notches and rushed to try and sound horrified.

"What? Why didn't you just say that then?"

"I _did_!"

"Well we need to- Ah!" The overcharging cabling exploded in a huge furry of sparks and electrical discharge striking the Spartan's conveniently extremely conductible armor launching him violently backwards into the housing of the slip space stabilizer.

Nathan's vision exploded in a shower of stars and blackness. He felt himself falling and instinctively reached out to grab onto anything to keep him stable but the object her grabbed onto, though firm and unyielding as it felt, dipped and came down with him. His vision came back just as the room exploded in a ball of intense fire.

* * *

**U.N.S.C. controlled planet Aria /**

Chris stumbled up the side of the Mortica Mountain Range just as the world cracked in two. A huge gash opened up not a hundred feet from his in the side of the mountain that rocketed down to the forests below and raced on to the horizon. A massive rumble followed and the whole of the world moved in agony. Chris couldn't tell which side was moving but knew either way that Aria was dying.

Aria vomited magma from its core like blood from a wound in the most unlikely of places. Mountain peek snow vaporized instantly as a thousand foot geyser of molten slag was spewed forth from the Denik Mountain two hundred miles away. The great rain forests of Wellsun Ride lit up in the blink of an eye pumping five mile high clouds of toxic black smoke and ash. Chris watched in horror as an entire ocean _visibly_ dropped ten thousand plus feet in a great splash of white tops beaching hundreds of thousands of creatures and unveiling an endangered coastline of coral.

The world was split in two down the middle and was rotating slowly, violently. Half of the Mortica mountain side was revealing thousands of strata lines became visible to Chris as he watched Aria inch closer to death. It was growing further away, the other half of the mountain side, foot by murderous foot.

Chris sat down in the dissipating snow watching thick clouds of various bird species were flying in all directions unable to find refuge in the sky from the global event. He didn't know what would happen to Aria when the two halves grew too far apart but Chris knew he didn't want to find out. In the distance he saw a wall of magma drown the probe station he had spent years working at.

Chris almost laughed; suddenly an object crash lands on Aria that an orbiting covert frigate claims is a simply probe, an explosions that couldn't be caused by a probe occurs in the same spot, a mysterious facility hidden under the Mortica Mountain range goes nuclear, and Aria just split in half.

"It's an excellent place to test a doomsday weapon." Chris said still laughing as the world burned around him.

* * *

**Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it! Please review if you have any suggestions or comments of any kind!**


	8. Change of Scenery

**Sudden Endeavor**

By: Absolute Edge

I do not own Halo, its awesome characters, or the epic plot.

* * *

**- CHANGE OF SCENERY -**

* * *

**U.N.S.S. Covert Frigate **_**Sudden Endeavor **_**/**

"Sir, we have an incoming transmission from the Probe Station 3E-Gamma." Some techie said clicking away at a keyboard.

"It's a distress signal sir." The man said pausing for a moment.

"Put it on speaker." The Spartan said as a horrible shiver ran up his spine and whispered to himself, "Please don't be 218, please, oh please, oh pleeease!"

-_Probe Station 3E-Gamma calling U.N.S.C. Covert Frigate _Sudden Endeavor_, please respond.-_

"This is _Sudden Endeavor_, go ahead 3E-Gamma."

-_There has been a cataclysmic event of some kind.-_ The voice said slow and monotone almost uncaring.

"Aw shit!" The Spartan said loudly, "What do you mean 'cataclysmic'?"

-_I am unsure; I will connect you to my perimeter sensors.-_

The link came through and the only thing the Spartan or Michele could see was fire. Trees burned like matches and the smoke clotted the sky. Entire mountains disappeared under torrents of molten slag. The sheer magnitude of destruction was simply unbelievable.

"Oh." The Spartan whispered, "Yeah, that's pretty cataclysmic." Just then they lost contact with the probe station, however the ships computers were playing the video feed over in a loop.

"I can't believe it." Michele said materializing at the Spartan's side, "We've done it."

"What do you mean? 218 just put a planet into apocalyptic meltdown!" The Spartan yelled waving his arms for effect.

"I have to contact High Command! This is wonderful news!" Michele said happily.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa time out! What do you _mean?_"

"We've been trying to creating an endgame device, an instant win against all adversaries or in our case against the Covenant. We'd drop it onto their planet and it would wipe it clean, unfortunately after thousands of theorized scenarios a device, like a bomb, didn't work very well. So we decided to try testing with people and Spartan-218 was the final result."

"So, very simply put, you'd put 218 on a planet, and he'd just destroy it?"

"Yes." Said Michele and the Spartan began laughing.

"What's so funny?" Michele said as her hologram tilted its head in question.

"You're trying to tell me that 218, _our_ 218, the unluckiest person in the galaxy, is secretly a super weapon designed to eradicate all life on a planet?"

"Simply put, yes. Of course, he doesn't even know what he is himself. He really is the unluckiest person in the galaxy and all those unfortunate things that happen to him are not staged. We had a theory and ran with it, and now I have proof this one works."

"How did he do it?" The Spartan had stopped laughing and was now extremely curious.

"We don't know, we may never know, but what we do know is that it worked and that's all High Command wants to hear."

"Well your next one will never be as devastating as this." The Spartan commented right as the _Sudden Endeavor_ dropped out of a slip space bubble into high orbit around Aria.

"Why do you say that?" Michele said as the blast shields grinded back from the windows.

"Only 218 could do that kind of damage." The Spartan said pointing at the two burning halves of Aria floating away from each other.

* * *

**Micro Dyson Sphere /**

The horizon curved upwards beyond the clouds in the Micro Dyson Sphere. Dr. Catherine Halsey smiled at the technological genius behind its construction and stared up at the sky watching the clouds change shape slowly. She was lying in the grass with her hands behind her head letting the warm sunlight soak into her skin as a cool breeze flowed over her body. It was different here without the throbbing of gunfire and the tide waves of hatred surging back and forth between armies. It was peaceful, shockingly peaceful actually, and Dr. Halsey savored every second of it.

Dr. Halsey turned her head and brushed some stray strands of her graying black hair out of her eyes and watched her Spartans enjoying the peace. Even Chief Petty Officer Mendez was having a good time, though he probably wouldn't admit it. Mendez has always kept his emotions wrapped tight, hidden behind his iron will and discipline. The corners of his lips were cracked up, almost in a smile, as he listened to the Spartans recall and paint their stories for everyone to see.

A shiver of light caught her eye and Dr. Halsey sat up and stared off into the distance before whispering to herself, as if she required verification that what her eyes were seeing was real, "A slip space rupture, out here?"

"Mr. Mendez," Dr. Halsey called out not taking her eyes off the slip space rupture, "could you confirm a suspicion I have?"

CPO Mendez looked over to the Doctor and she pointed at the rupture, it couldn't be more than a hundred yards away and fifty yards off the ground, which was more than close enough for Mendez and all of Dr. Halsey's Spartans to jump into action. In a matter of seconds the safeties were off and they were on the move.

"Fred, Kelly you two protect Dr. Halsey and keep her a safe ways back. The rest of you move out!" Chief Petty Officer Mendez said, he was, after all, the highest ranking soldier here, and knew it. As his group of Spartans began a quick jog over to form defensive lines before something came through the rupture Fred and Kelly were standing to either side of Dr. Halsey.

Before Mendez's group was even ten yards away the slip space rupture seemed to explode, but Dr. Halsey knew better. The rupture hadn't exploded, rather an explosion was leaking through. The rupture was engulfed in a blast of red and yellow when a large explosion launched a fireball skyrocketing out at an angle with debris leaving smoky tendrils behind. Then another explosion, more violent and aggressive, vomited forth from the rupture followed by black lines of twisted metal and rock.

Out of that last explosion something was propelled from the looming fireball. A large contorted slab of burnt black metal crashed down near Mendez and the other Spartans. Once the debris had landed the explosion died down and the slip space rupture was gone.

Ash, a Spartan-III, came running back to where Dr. Halsey, Fred, and Kelly were standing, "Dr. Halsey! You're going to want to see this!"

"Why, what is it?" She called back, seriously wondering what Ash thought could be so impressive that she would want to see, alien tech maybe?

"We think it's a Spartan." Ash said now only feet from them and with that the four of them ran over to the crash site.

Mendez was kneeling down by the still smoldering hunk of metal and waved at them, "Don't touch it, its still hot."

As Dr. Halsey came closer she suddenly realized that it was, indeed, a Spartan. "Oh my..."

It was all she could muster, as she examined the Spartan. He, judging by the curves in the armor or lack there of, had seen better days. Its usual sage green had been burnt down to the flat grey metal below and lathered with a fine, thick layer of black ash. In many places, a good example would be the right leg, the armor had fused together rendering it either useless or to be useless as they would need to cut it off to get the person out inside.

Molten slag that had hardened onto the Spartan had filled in various, mostly important, ports for data chips, A.I. links, and video logs. His left arm, from the base of the elbow to the edges of his knuckles, had been submerged in the same slag that had hardened and left his fingers visible. His normally golden visor now blackened and slightly contorted from the heat made what little reflection visible appear warped. Much of the under armor, the black rubbery suit, had melted and shifted awkwardly into bunches and odd layers but hadn't fallen off.

Dr. Halsey knelt down by the Spartan and reached out but was intercepted by Mendez who quickly reminded her that the metal was still hot. She pushed his cautious hands aside and grasped the Spartans hand with both of her own. The metal was cool and the Spartans fingers were still loose and fell down around Dr. Halsey's grip meaning rigor mortis hasn't set in yet.

"It's cool, the metal. He hasn't been... dead long, maybe only a few minutes." She said tightening her grip, she hated this part. Dr. Halsey loved her Spartans so much, not as weapons but as the children she had taken and raised to become what they are now, Humanities last, best hope for survival.

"I can't see any dog tags, and any identification has been burned away. He's a ghost now, and we may never know who he once was." She stood up and let go of the Spartan but the fingers were clamped down around her hand still. And just as Dr. Halsey was contemplating how rigor mortis takes hours to set in there was a horribly unpleasant screech of steel as the Spartan turned its head to face her.

* * *

**Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it! Please review if you have any suggestions or comments of any kind!**


	9. Darkness Within, Darkness Without

**Sudden Endeavor**

By: Absolute Edge

I do not own Halo, its awesome characters, or the epic plot.

Sorry for taking so long. I had always planned on continuing this only I could never figure out how. I hope this is at least satisfactory. And it is kind of long but w/e. Read and enjoy.

* * *

- **DARKNESS WITHIN, DARKNESS WITHOUT** -

* * *

**Location: CEPT-087/E1, widely accepted to be the most distant galaxy from the Milky Way at any given time of the 26****th**** century /**

A ponderous black object hung in the cold vacuum of space that was older than the stars themselves and created by an empire of bones and rubble. Long and a relatively simple design its body stretched thousands of kilometers. It was diamond in shape however the geometric top and bottom were stretched out making it exceptionally long and oddly shaped for any space fairing craft. Upon each surface a comfortable kilometer from the fringe of each possible edge and indented into the dark metal rest titanic dark green crystals that pulsed in union. The distance up to the perfect ninety degree drop from the fringe to the crystals was decorated with fine black obelisks and small, flat-topped pyramids that bristled from its body, reaching out to the great beyond in praise to ancient corpse gods that no longer whispered back. Its entire length was layered in a fine coating of gold that seemed to trap the oblong diamond from escaping for a reason that had been lost for millennia. The tips of the long points were encased in gold with intricate designs and marking that once held grand meaning but now is mostly for décor.

It twirled on its axis perfectly and methodically without moving in any given direction, defying gravitational pulls. Every so often sparks of green energy arced from the massive crystals and struck the hundreds of thousands of flat-top pyramids before being dispersed amongst the obelisks. These jagged bolts of energy jumped from obelisk to obelisk as they made their way to the gold edging. As they struck the gold fringe they raced towards the upper or lower poles before being subsequently fired into space in perfect beams of green light that traveled out of visual distance. Any purpose this seemingly random occurrence had had died with its creators back before their suns burned out.

As if called by an unknown signal the black diamond smoothly turned and began to accelerate. Going faster and faster, far surpassing any speed the Humans or Covenant could reach with their regular thrusters. Hundreds of kilometers a second turned into millions, millions turned into tens of billions, and soon it reached tens of thousands of light years a second. Stars flashed by, mere glimpses of light as the vessel cleanly soared through space. It never entered a slip space bubble, it didn't have to; it simply accelerated. Past even the groundbreaking speed of warp the vessel glided through entire galaxies in a matter of seconds, intent on reaching its destination.

* * *

**Location: Micro Dyson Sphere /**

All of a sudden a fleet of birds took off and some lesser rodents fled away from the now collapsed slip space rupture. They hadn't been afraid of the explosion that came from the hole in space and time, that had peeked their curiosity yes but hadn't frightened them. However when Dr. Catherine Halsey screamed it was out of shock and fear, and the fear is what the animals sensed and what triggered their flight of fight response. The scream radiated throughout the forest like a radio wave, bouncing too and fro off trees, rocks, and the like.

However, sixteen kilometers directly south from the Spartan encampment resided a seemingly natural cave. This cave connected with a vast tunnel system that could easily cause a traveler to loose their way and where green crystals grow from the walls and ceiling granting a dim lowlight at almost all times. The crystals became more packed the deeper the tunnel went and their radiance grew brighter till there was hardly any darkness left. The very end of the tunnel opened up into a massive, perfectly square room. Its walls and floor was made from a dark, flawless metal that met at faultless ninety degree angles. Inside this room the green crystals failed to grow and the light projecting from the tunnel seemed to be absorbed by the metal. In essence, the mouth of the tunnel simply ended in darkness.

* * *

Shockingly enough, Dr. Halsey's scream found its way to this very tunnel and began to echo. As the first groups of crystals began to quiver from the vibrations they created their own waves of sound that triggered a chain reaction all the way down to the dark room. From within a figure resided upon a throne of black rock, unmoving and unconcerned. That is, until the slight vibrations from the crystals jerked the figure out of its stasis violently. Its eyes shot wide open in anger as it rose from its throne which trembled as if it knew what its master was feeling. It directed a long boney finger towards the tunnel entrance and at a silent command another figure rose from the ground slowly and methodically and began to run.

Back at the Spartan camp voices were raised regarding their new guest. Dr. Halsey and Olivia, one of the Spartan-III, were doing what they could to help remove the melted armor from the Spartan who had been violently ejected from the slip space portal. Dr. Halsey knew very little about their new arrival except the obvious of course. For one it was clear just by curves in the armor that it was a Spartan-II and a male. Unfortunately that was pretty much all they could discern as the molten slag had obliterated any identifying marks. Behind them a ways Officer Mendez was debating with Fred and Linda, the two highest ranking Spartans amongst them, about how to deal with the mangled Spartan. They had no medical supplies to treat burns, broken bones, or even cuts. It had been suggested that they perform a mercy killing so the Spartan doesn't have to suffer, but this was quickly rejected. For now they would try to keep him as comfortable as possible until he regained consciousness, or rather _if_ he regained consciousness.

"What do you make of this, Dr. Halsey?" Olivia asked as she brushed away some crusted over ash. From beneath, burned through the Spartan's armor down to his flesh, resided a glyph. "It doesn't look like any U.N.S.C. symbol I've ever seen."

Dr. Halsey didn't reply as she was lost in thought. The glyph was nothing she had ever seen before and Halsey had seen a fair amount of icons, symbols, and signs. Nonetheless, it was familiar but she just couldn't put her finger on it and as Olivia brushed more and more of the ash away it was slowly coming back to her. "Oh my…"

"Dr. Halsey, what is it? What do you see?" Olivia inquired curiously as the Dr. Halsey poked and prodded the burn marks of the glyph. She watched the doctor trace her fingers along the slim cuts in the armor from the tip of a long, straight gash to a small circle the size of Olivia's clenched fist where it continued out the other side. From either side of the circle, perpendicular to the straight gash was smaller length cuts with even smaller cuts that looked like an 'x' jutting from the area in-between the crossed sections of line.

Suddenly Olivia found the glyph projected in her mind and thought about what it could represent. A small circle with crossing lines and then diagonally crossing lines… and then it made sense.

"A star…" Olivia whispered to herself. Dr. Halsey's eyes widened slightly and she stared up at Olivia.

"What was that, Olivia?" Dr. Halsey asked, her eyes intently scanning over Olivia's visor as if she was trying to pear into her mind.

"Nothing, Doctor, it's just the… thing reminds me of a very crudely drawn star." Olivia said offhandedly as she recalled drawings posted on a wall in a school that she could hardly picture in her mind anymore as the decades of training and war had purged her memory of all unnecessary material.

"A star, yes, indeed… an eight pointed star to be exact." Dr. Halsey wasn't really talking to Olivia now, she was thinking about something she had read about in college. "Olivia could you get everyone over here, I have much a need to speak with them?"

"Yes ma'am!" Olivia said running off. After a few moments everyone was gathered around Dr. Halsey and the unconscious Spartan.

"Everyone, when Olivia mentioned how the glyph here…" Dr. Halsey motioned to the glyph cut into the Spartan's armor. "Resembled a star it got me thinking. Back when I was in college I read a report about an expedition team. They had discovered a hospitable planet for colonization but while exploring they uncovered a series of obelisk type constructs made of some kind of black stone. Thinking they had uncovered life, or just ruins, they began exploring deeper."

"And what does a bunch of rocks have to do with our Spartan friend here?" Chief Petty Officer Mendez asked.

"I was just getting to that; well they had taken photos of their journey and one of the obelisks they photographed had this very same glyph."

"What happened to the exploration team?" Linda asked.

"We don't know. Something happened and when an emergency rescue team was sent to the planet's coordinates from Earth the planet was gone."

Just… gone?" Ash inquired unable to believe that an entire planet would simply disappear. "The Covenant glassed planets but the planet was still there."

"I know, but the planet was no where to be found. Just dust and trace elements of radiation." Dr. Halsey said grimly. "At first we thought there was a cataclysmic event of some kind but now I have reason to believe that the glyph from the photos and the one burned into our friend her are one in the same."

"So you're inferring that what ever nuked that planet could be… on its way here?" Olivia asked, almost afraid… _almost_.

"No, no, don't be silly. I fear they…" Dr. Halsey paused and stared over the shoulder of Mark at the hilltop. "May already be here." She subliminally nodded in the direction of the hill and Fred glanced over his shoulder.

"Contact at the top of the hill, two hundred meters at least." Mark whispered into his comms link. "Hostile nature unknown."

"Well after what the Doc said we should keep our guns close." Ash suggested and everyone agreed. Suddenly they all heard a moan; the Spartan was coming too and at the worst possible time.

"He's going to be in a shit load of pain, if he starts screaming that thing back there might come to the wrong conclusion!" Lucy said as she bent over the man who had begun looking around. They had only been able to remove a few pieces of the damaged armor: the left shoulder, part of the abdomen, and the left shin guard. Under the armor flowed the unmistakable smell of burnt flesh which assaulted all of their senses but they overcame their disgust in order to help. Most of the skin had been vaporized by the heat and the muscle below had been severely burned. It was a godsend that the man had fallen unconscious.

However the Spartan never screamed, no cries of pain or agony, he decided, rather, to find his bearings. Though it was _possible _that a piece of liquid metal or toxic vapors have permanently disabled his vocal cords, but then again if he was in any kind of pain his body would be convulsing violently. It seemed that the Spartan didn't feel anything even though the process of removing some of his armor, which had fused to much of the skin and even muscle below, would have been a most agonizing experience even _after _he woke. First left then right and then up at Lucy. It was odd that the Spartan could see out of this splintered and almost completely melted visor, but as it seemed he not only could but did with evident dexterity.

"Don't worry you're not dead, if that's what you're thinking. Oh, and if you don't mind, try not to scream, ok?" Dr. Halsey said crouching down by the woken Spartan. Lucy rose and turned back with the others to observe the mysterious figure on the hill that hadn't budged an inch.

* * *

It stood motionless atop the elevated mound of earth as it took absorbed, processed, and stored the unstoppable flow of information its many sensors were providing. It needed to know everything about everything everywhere as prior its directive. In a moment of technological curiosity it recalled a reaction prompt it had undergone upon exiting the stasis field of the subterranean tunnel system. The reaction only lasted a handful of milliseconds but they were enough for its many self-monitoring sensors to detect and bring to its attention. The feeling, if one could even call what a machine experiences as such, was something resembling a series of old language characters combined to form a text in which it defined.

The process of being_ shocked and appalled_ was not a first. A first in over seven hundred million standard years maybe, it wasn't about to use valuable core processing power to determine the exact time, but it was always caught slightly off guard by the 'feeling.' The moment it had leapt from the confines of the tunnel's maw this 'feeling' took a hold of its main data processor and caused a fleeting pause of essential programming which was essentially the same as being caught off guard.

Its optic scanners had detected a sharp increase in self-sustaining organic material and the success of multiple stratums of heterogenesis resulting in a surplus of multicellular organisms. It was surrounded by trees, brush, grass, and small animals and it was disgusted by their presence. Eons ago they had purged great swaths of the universe of all life and for eons after they had slumbered until the universe required cleansing once again. And now, it seemed that their services were demanded once again.

However as much as it wanted to begin a glorious purge it had a command prompt that was of greater importance and wasn't about to ignore to save its life. So, for now, it stood atop a mound of earth and observed the ugly creatures bellow till its master deemed fit for it to move.

* * *

**Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it! Please review if you have any suggestions or comments of any kind!**


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